1665 replies to this topic

[cpman]

S. invicta and a native fire ant and Brachymyrmex patagonicus flew today in Austin. There was full sun, high was like 87° and it was ~70% humidity.
I can't believe how many RIFA alates I've seen this week -- probably close to 10000.

[AntsTexas]

here's 1 of the colony's nuptial flight

 

https://www.youtube....eature=youtu.be

 

 

S. Invicta

Edited by Ant Man, May 30 2015 - 9:00 AM.

[dspdrew]

Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus laevigatus, Camponotus quercicola and Myrmecocystus testaceus, flew 5-30-2015 in Angelus Oaks, California. Temperature was about 65 F, with no recent rain.

[dspdrew]

The database is up to 1743 records now. I'm going through BugGuide.com right now, and there is a LOT of information. I'm only on Formica at the moment, so I have a long ways to go.

[Ants4fun]

Yeah, I definitely appreciate bugguide.

[dspdrew]

Species: Temnothorax sp. [181], Solenopsis molesta, S. xyloni, S. amblychila, Crematogaster sp., and Nylanderia vividula.

Location: Trabuco Canyon, California

Date: 6-7-2015

Time: 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Temperature: 67 F

Humidity: 70%

[AntsTexas]

i noticed when looking at youtube videos of Pogonomyrmex barbatus nuptial flights they r in early july and early august.....

[dspdrew]

Species: S. xyloni, Liometopum occidentale

Location: Menifee, California

Date: 6-8-2015

Time: 9:00 PM

Temperature: 80 F

Humidity: 30%

 

 

My brother showed me some pictures of queens annoying him while him and his family are trying to relax out in front. He saved the Liometopum occidentale for me.

[AntsTexas]

question? morning/afternoon/evening when does Pogonomyrmex barbatus take flight?

[dspdrew]

Species: Pheidole desertorum, Temnothorax sp. [181], Solenopsis molesta, S. xyloni, S. amblychila, Crematogaster mutans, Crematogaster sp. [80]., Liometopum occidentale..

Location: Trabuco Canyon, California

Date: 6-9-2015

Time: 9:00 PM

Temperature: 75 F

Humidity: 60%

Wind: Light

Rain: Light

 

Edit: I just learned how to recognize the difference between Pheidole vistana and P. desertorum, and it turns out the queen I found this night was actually P. desertorum.

Edited by dspdrew, July 25 2018 - 7:37 AM.
Changed Pheidole sp. [181] to Temnothorax sp. [181]

[AntTeen804]

Tetramorium Sp.E flew yesterday Nylanderia Sp. Temnothorax C. And a Pheidole sp flew today.
Chesterfield,Virginia
88 Degrees Celsius

[kellakk]

On Friday (6-12-15) I went on a family trip to Zion National Park in Utah. There had been scattered thunderstorms in the days before. While there, I found dozens of Liometopum sp. males and 5 female alates, 3 of which were dead.  I think this is Liometopum luctuosum, but it could also be Liometopum apiculatum.

 

I also found 2 Solenopsis cf. invicta alates which have both shed their wings now.  The Solenopsis look like invicta and were found in a more urban area, but the coloration is a lot lighter than any S. invicta I've ever seen.

[dspdrew]

On Friday (6-12-15) I went on a family trip to Zion National Park in Utah. There had been scattered thunderstorms in the days before. While there, I found dozens of Liometopum sp. males and 5 female alates, 3 of which were dead.  I think this is Liometopum luctuosum, but it could also be Liometopum apiculatum.

 

I also found 2 Solenopsis cf. invicta alates which have both shed their wings now.  The Solenopsis look like invicta and were found in a more urban area, but the coloration is a lot lighter than any S. invicta I've ever seen.

 

Do you have a microscope?

[kellakk]

Yes, but not one as awesome as yours. Why?

[dspdrew]

You should be able to ID the Solenopsis pretty easily if you had one.

[kellakk]

I just examined the Solenopsis sp. more carefully and now think it's Crematogaster.  I assumed it was Solenopsis at first because I didn't have any magnifying device with me, and because I've never seen Crematogaster queens before.

 

Edit:  After running through this key, I think this is Crematogaster depilis.  I'll try running through it again with the first workers to die.

Edited by kellakk, June 15 2015 - 1:01 PM.

[dspdrew]

You'll probably never get a Crematogaster ID'd here in the Southwest because of how similar they all look. I did post this ID thread (http://www.formicult...n-ca-5-12-2015/) a while back because of how unique these ones look. They have been flying since April, and are still flying, which makes them even more unique. I also saw these (http://www.formiculture.com/index.php/topic/5-dspdrews-crematogaster-sp2-journal-80-updated-5-31-2015/) starting to fly again last week.

 

Edit: Sorry I forgot you were in Utah. Still not sure how easily you'll get an ID.

[Gregory2455]

June 14, 2015

Went blacklighting right about here:

https://www.google.c...2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0

I caught one Pogonomyrmex californicus bicolor queen, one of these weird Crematogaster queens that dspdrew has been catching as well, and one Pheidole cf. desertorum queen! Yahoo!

[Ants4fun]

Species: Tapinoma sessile
Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Date: 17-7-2015
Time: 5:00 PM
Temperature: 70 F

I found a half alate half dealate about an hour ago. I let it be, as I'm not really interested in this sp. it rained all day yesterday.

[dspdrew]

Trachymyrmex septentrionalis flew within the last couple days, lots of queens are out and about foraging to provide for their incipient fungus gardens.

 

Can you tell me what city this happened in?